Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 1 87 



was compelled, after his day's work, to wade through the evening dews, up to the waist in lonu erass or 

 bushes ; and, returning, found nothing to lie on but a bear's skin on the cold ground, exposed to everv Wast 

 through the sides, and every shower through the open roof of his wretched dwelling which he did not 

 even attempt to close, till the approach of winter, and often not then. Under such distresses of extreme 

 toil and exposure, debarred from every comfort, many valuable lives have sunk, which have been chareed 

 to the climate. The individual whose case is here included had to carry the little grain he could procure 

 twelve miles to be ground, and remembers once seeing at the mill a man who had brought his corn sixtv 

 miles, and was compelled to wait three days for his turn. Such are the difficulties which these pioneers 

 have to encounter ; but they diminish as settlements approach each other, and are only heard of bv their 

 successors. 



1 167. The political circumstances of the United States affect the agriculturist both as to 

 the cost of production and the value of produce. It is evident that the want of popula- 

 tion must render the price of labour high, and the produce of land low. In this 

 Parkinson, Birkbeck, Cobbett, and all who have written on the agriculture of America, 

 agree. " The simple produce of the soil," Birkbeck observes, " that is to say, grain, 

 is cheap in America ; but every other article of necessity and convenience is dear in 

 comparison. Every service performed for one man by another must be purchased at a 

 high rate, much higher than in England." The cheapness of land affords the posses- 

 sion of independence and comfort at so easy a rate, that strong inducements of profit are 

 required to detain men in the condition of servitude. Hence the high price of all com- 

 modities, not simply agricultural ; of the labour of mechanics of every description ; 

 and hence also the want of local markets for grain, because where three fourths of the 

 population raise their own grain (which is the calculation), the remaining fourth will 

 use but a moderate proportion of the spare produce. The low rate of land and taxes 

 and this want of home markets form the reason why the American farmer, notwith- 

 standing the price of labour, affords his grain so cheap for exportation. Although the 

 rate of produce is low, the profits of the American farmers are high, on account of the 

 small capital required. With 2000/. Birkbeck calculates that a farm of 640 acres, in the 

 Illinois, may be purchased, stocked, and cultivated, so as to return, after deducting all 

 expenses, twenty-two per cent, besides the value of the improvements made on the land, 

 that is, its increased value, which, as has already been stated (1164.), is incredible, in a 

 very short time. 



1168. The agricultural products of the United States include all those of Britain and 

 France. The British grains, herbage, plants, and fruits are grown in every district. What 

 appears at first sight very remarkable is, that in America the native pastures (except 

 on the banks of the rivers) consist entirely of annuals ; and that is the reason why the 

 country is generally bare and black in winter ; but perennial grasses, when sown in the 

 uplands, are found to thrive in many situations. The greatest quantity of wheat is 

 grown in Pennsylvania and New England. Maize ripens in all the districts, except 

 some of the most northerly. Rice is cultivated in Virginia, and on the Ohio ; and the 

 vine is indigenous in these and other provinces, though its culture has not yet been 

 much attempted. Some French cultivators are of opinion that the American soil and 

 climate are unfavourable ; this, however, is not likely to be the case, it being a native 

 of the country. The government have established a Swiss colony for its culture, at 

 Vevay, in Indiana ; and another in Louisiana, for the culture of the olive. The mul- 

 berry, the cotton, and the sugar-cane are cultivated in Virginia, but not extensively. 

 Sugar is procured plentifully in the woody districts, by tapping different species of A^cer, 

 especially the saccharinum, in spring ; boiling the juice till it thickens ; and then granulat- 

 ing it by letting it stand and drain in a tub, the bottom of which is pierced with small 

 holes. The sugar obtained does little more than pay for the labour. 



1 169. Of the live stock of the United States, the breed of horses of English extraction is, 

 in general, good, as are the cows and hogs. In many cases there is no limit to the 

 number of these that may be grazed in the unoccupied woods : all that the fanner has 

 to do is, to protect them from bears and wolves at particular seasons, and to keep them 

 tame, as in Russia and Switzerland, by giving them salt. Sheep are totally unfit for 

 the climate and state of the country, though a number of proprietors have been at great 

 pains in attempting to introduce the merinos. Mutton, Birkbeck observes, is almost 

 as abhorrent from an American palate or fancy, as the flesh of swine from an Israelite ; 

 and the state of the manufactures does not give great encouragement to the growth of 

 wool of any kind, of merino wool less, perhaps, than any other. Mutton is sold in 

 the markets of Philadelphia at about half the price of beef; and the Kentuckian, who 

 would have given a thousand dollars for a merino ram, woidd dine upon dry bread rather 

 than taste his own mutton. A few sheep on every farm, to supply coarse wool for 

 domestic manufacture, seems to be all that ought at present to be attempted in any part 

 of America that I have yet seen. Deep woods are not the proper abodes of sheep. 

 When America shall have cleared away her forests, and opened her uplands to the 

 breezes, they will soon be covered with fine turf, and flocks will be seen ranging over 

 them here, as in other parts of the world. 



1170. Agricultural operations in America are skilfully performed by the farmers of 



